Endoscopes, which allow viewing of the interior of body lumens and cavities, are increasingly used in conducting medical procedures. One of the greatest difficulties in using endoscopes is navigating the distal end of the endoscope within the body to the procedure site. Standard endoscopes are steered using articulation wires secured to the distal end and which extend to the proximal end, where they can be operated by mechanisms incorporated in the proximal end of the endoscope. The articulation wires pull the distal end of the endoscope, causing it to articulate in the desired direction. Some endoscopes have a single plane of articulation, and navigation is affected by a combination of articulation and rotation of the endoscope. Other endoscopes have two planes of articulation, and navigation is effected by combinations of movement in the two planes. Neither of these types of endoscopes provides simple and easy omnidirectional navigation. Another problem with wire-controlled endoscopes is that the control over the movement of the tip of the endoscope diminishes with each successive bend in the endoscope, so as the endoscope is navigated through a particularly tortuous path through the body, navigation becomes increasingly difficult.
Magnetic navigation of an endoscope eliminates the difficulties encountered with mechanical navigation. A magnetic field can be generated to orient the tip of the endoscope in virtually any direction, and is not limited to movement in one or two planes. Furthermore, tip deflection is based solely on the strength of the magnetic field, and thus navigation is not affected by the path of the endoscope. However, it can be difficult for a medical professional to quickly and easily control the magnetic field in order to effectively magnetically navigate an endoscope. What has been needed is an effective way of controlling the application of magnetic fields to both orient and move magnetic devices, such as endoscopes.